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  <title>729: 'We do disagree with the position that natural kratom leaf products should also be banned' (Video)</title>
  <description>There's been a lot of talk in North Dakota in recent weeks about kratom after Gov. Kelly Armstrong issued executive orders banning the substance and called lawmakers into a special session in Bismarck with an eye toward making that ban permanent. But what does the kratom industry think about it? &amp;quot;We agree with the governor in part and we disagree in another part,&amp;quot; Mac Haddow said on this episode of Plain Talk. &amp;quot;It's a lot like being married, right? We have to get it right at the end.&amp;quot; Haddow is a former state lawmaker, and a Reagan-era chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, he's a senior fellow on public policy at the American Kratom Association, and where he and his organization agree with Armstrong is on synthetic kratom. He said that colloquial descriptors like &amp;quot;gas station heroin&amp;quot; are accurate. &amp;quot;There's no question it's the same as an opioid.&amp;quot; But on a previous episode of Plain Talk, Armstrong said the natural, botanical variety of kratom should be banned too, and that's where Haddow and his group diverge. Natural kratom is a different animal. &amp;quot;This is akin to what happened during Prohibition,&amp;quot; he argued. &amp;quot;We don't call moonshine corn and we certainly don't call caffeine coffee. These are things that need to be closely examined and properly regulated.&amp;quot; Haddow argues that good policy coming out of this session would ban synthetic kratom and regulate the natural variety to ensure that it's only available to adults and is transparent about things like ingredients and dosage. Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I responded to listener feedback and talked about&amp;amp;nbsp;renewed controversy around Fargo-area state lawmaker Rep. Desiree Morton.&amp;amp;nbsp;In June, Morton attacked fellow lawmakers for allowing Somali volunteers on their campaigns. More recently, in private messages, Morton insinuated that a ward proposal for Fargo's city government would allow &amp;quot;imports&amp;quot; to take over the city. Morton said in her message that she's &amp;quot;not a hater,&amp;quot; but Oban disagrees. &amp;quot;She is a hater,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;She's a bigot. She's a racist.&amp;quot; If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at&amp;amp;nbsp;701-587-3141.&amp;amp;nbsp;It’s super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you’re from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts&amp;amp;nbsp;|&amp;amp;nbsp;Spotify&amp;amp;nbsp;|&amp;amp;nbsp;YouTube&amp;amp;nbsp;|&amp;amp;nbsp;Pocket Casts&amp;amp;nbsp;|&amp;amp;nbsp;Episode Archive </description>
  <author_name>Plain Talk</author_name>
  <author_url>https://www.inforum.com/podcasts/Plain-Talk-With-Rob-Port</author_url>
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